Swing Batter Swing!

Tonight is a big night in DC. In fact, all weekend has been pretty exciting in DC.

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom. And they are so pretty. Even if I havent actually gone downtown in YEARS to see the blossoms, I still love the gorgeous pictures every night on the news of the Tidal Basin lined with flowering cherry trees. So simple and pretty in a city that is so non-stop craziness.



Tonight though was even more special.

The Washington Nationals Stadium opened and the first pitch of baseball was thrown in the new stadium. The stadium is perfect and amazing. Even better that it is done....they were still working on paint touch ups and final items late last night!!

Only one thing disappointed me. The Pre.sid.ent threw out the first pitch in the new stadium. Its a tradition and part of the national pasttime. It doesnt matter what political party you are in or even if yoou personally like the guy. He is throwing a ball, not making a speech or debating a policy. Its baseball. So why do so many people have to ruin the simple but glorious moment on the first night of 2008 baseball by boo-ing? Trust me, I know that many dont agree with him and thats fine. I dont really care who you like or not when it comes to politics. That is your right as an Amer.ican but cant we at least watch the Presi.den.t of our country throw out the first ball in the newest stadium in the capital of the country without the negativity!?!?!?

ARGH. Rant over.

Back to the game. PLAY BALL!

HOT-Lanta

Here I am, in HOT-Lanta, though its 47 degrees and definitely NOT hot. When I come south, I expect warmer weather. And I did not get that this trip. But its sunny and otherwise pretty nice.

Spent some time at Centenn.ial Park and checked out the damage from the tornado that ripped through downtown Atlan.ta 2 weeks ago. Its not that bad. A bunch of skyscrapers have missing windows but all in all, downtown survived very well.

Tomorrow I get to go out and about in the city looking at event spaces and all those other things. Today I spent 7 hours walking around the hotel looking at empty meeting rooms, trying REALLY hard to visualize the conference that is still 6 months away.

Its going well but this trip.....well, bottom line...I am just not feeling it. Normally, when I go on these planning trips and site visits, I embrace the time away from the normal routines and live it up. This time, I just want to get it done and get home. I miss Hubby. I miss my little girl. I miss the big goofy dog. I just wanna go home!!

How can you NOT miss these sweet girls!?

But for now, I must stop this post---I need to go walk through the hotel AGAIN to plot out where I want to place directional signage. See......event planning is NOT all that glamourous!

My First Time

It was the first joint purchase Hubby and I made as a couple...the kind of purchase with both our names on it.

And today, as I drove to my favorite place in the world (Tar.get) listening to one of my favorite 80s songs (Pou.r Some Sug.ar On Me), my odometer read "100,000". My first time watching my own car make that milestone.

It was very exciting.

....Gulp....

Grace and I called Hubby when we got home today. Its the daily afternoon routine: Pick up Grace at day care, drive home, pet the dog and put her outside, and call Daddy to say hello. All of this before making dinner and getting started on bedtime routines.

Today was slightly different. Not the routine but the conversation with Hubby.

While talking to him, Hubby sent the final, signed paperwork to the mortg.age guy. Currently, we are set to close on the house on March 28. The 4 year anniversary of Kati.e's (my mother in law) passing. It has taken 4 years. Enough said on that.

Its exciting. Its scary. Its making me feel like a "real" adult. You know, the kind that has to pay a :gulp: mortg.age every month for what seems like the rest of my life.

Our last payment is February 14, 2038. And that seems like it will never come. It will someday I guess. That last payment is $2.73 more than all the other payments. That additional expediture will be the best Valen.tine's Day present ever!

And so the journey of being "real" homeowners begins....even though we have been living here for years.

Gulp.

Insanity is Coming!

These are the last 4 days before Spring InSanity begins for me.

I am dreading it. The insanity that is.

Sure, there are trips to GA, TX, GA, and FL but they all require work, not relaxation. And I still havent figured out the whole babysitting thing for the FL trip....I will get around to that one of these days.

We are going to be home one weekend for the entire month of April. That weekend is Grace's 4th birthday and she was invited to another birthday party on the other end of the area. REALLY excited.

Guess I will have to learn to sleep on planes.

It's Buff.ett Day!

Tick.etmas.ter site is already open on my computer. The cre.dit car.d info has been entered so all I have to do is hit the purchase button. And I have blocked the time as "busy" on the office calendar.

Jim.my Buf.fett tickets go on sale at 10AM today. He is doing 2 shows in DC this year so I am hoping that means it will be a little easier to get my hands on tickets. The shows are over Labor Day weekend, Saturday or Monday. I am thinking that Monday will be easier to get. However, I have one of the admin assistants in the office trying for Saturday tickets while I try for Monday.

I WILL get tickets. Somehow, someway.

UPDATE SUCCESS!! I got 10 tickets for the Monday show. The countdown begins!

Puzzles

Apparently, puzzles are good for improving your memory, developing thinking skills, and they are plain, old fun. Heck, Grace can sit for hours and play with them.

But today, I despise puzzles.

Particularly the ones involving my day job. I had all these pieces of a puzzle and I got it solved. In fact, I had 2 puzzles solved this morning.

And then, one by one, vendors called or emailed. The only accomplishment of those communications was screwing up my delicate puzzle solutions.

Today, puzzles arent good for my brain development. The only thing they are giving me is a headache.

If the audio actually worked, you would hear Bri.tney Sp.ears in the background while Grace is telling the camera (and I am quoting): "I love some boys!".

So adorable.

Now, back to the video editing...I am determined to find the audio!

Pictures

I am at a loss for inspiration this week. Probably because I am waiting for a call to change my daily routine at the same time we are waiting for the call to tell us our mortgage payment. Oh AND just life in general is busy here lately.

SO here are some cute pics from the last week.....including some great Bo.n Jov.i pics from the concert last week. Me, Kristin, and Laura at a pre-Bon Jovi party. Free marg.artias make everything fun!

Daugh.tery (yep, the Americ.an Id.ol guy!) opened for Bon Jovi. He's just hot. Plain and simple.

Oh, Bo.n J.ovi. He's even hotter now than he was long ago. And the show was awesome!

GREAT shows guys! Loved every moment....even though it went by too fast!

Grace and I visited Laura at her mom's house this weekend to see the little one, Baby Sydney. She is getting so big so fast and is starting to look just like her mama!

The Pre-School Decision

The pre-school decision has been made. And what did I learn....that is sucks to be an adult with responsibilities!!!

We looked at 2 places in the area, one private school and one child-care center; both offer preschool for 4 year olds. I fell in love...madly, deeply in love....with the private school. I call it "KAP" (or kick-as.s preschool!) cause that is what it is. Perfection preschool style.

The other location is good. They are more child-led education but have a more open, flexible schedule. Since Grace has basically made her own schedule at day care for the past 4 years, that is good for her....to ease her into the "school" thing. The hours of the center are great for our schedules and she loved the school....inserted herself right into circle time when we were visiting.

After 25,297 conversations between Hubby and I, we decided not to register Grace at KAP. I am sad but its the right decision. The tuition would have been a whole extra car payment for us each month. That's a lot of cash. And the mortgage starts very soon. The place we decided on is only slightly more expensive than what we are paying now. So, its the responsible thing to do....for all of us. See....it totally sucks being an adult!!!!

The more I think about it, I agree with that. With this pre-school, we will be able to give Grace other things at home, like ballet class, swim lessons, dinners out with Mom and Dad...all that fun stuff that we like to do. At KAP, there would be no extra cash around and those things would be cut out.

So, this week, I will register her for preschool at the 2nd location. Starting this summer, she will be going to "school", not day care.

She is growing up too fast.